The Battles We Fight

As I battle through the effects and needs of a head cold (or whatever I am calling it today), I can't help reflect upon the battles that I--and all of us--fight every day. I'm not even talking about the biggies, really--as I am lucky to have little firsthand knowledge of war or serious illness, I wouldn't presume to discuss those. The battles to which I refer are the smaller ones--the day to day struggles that consume us, and that direct our choices about where and how we will use our precious time and energy.

Some days, the battle is for our time--how do we strategize to be able to accomplish everything that we need and want to do?

Other days, we battle to make sure our kids are succeeding, whether by checking their homework, talking to their teachers, or simply harassing (I mean, encouraging) them to focus on the tasks at hand.

Some days, our battle is for our weight and fitness. We set up resistance against the cookies and try to march firmly toward the gym.

Other days, at least for me, the battle is staying awake through an overnight shift and awake enough (but not too much) during the day that follows.

Some days, we battle to hold on to what it is we said we wanted.

And other days, we battle to hold on to what we have.

And some days, we try to fight all of these battles at once.

And then a head cold (or whatever we are calling it today) happens, and we realize that certain battles can wait while others are fought...